Wound
by btamamura
Summary: Reboot series. Danger Mouse recalls the day of his fateful accident to Penfold, and how he first reacted to the scar left behind. Follow-up of 'Scar'. Slash. Dangerfold. Danger Mouse x Penfold. Contains non-graphic description of an injury and mentions of past self-harm. Rated to be safe.
**Disclaimer:** _I do not own_ _ **Danger Mouse (2015)**_ _or any canon characters. They are the property of Fremantle Media, CBBC, etc._

 **Notes:** ** _It's been bothering me since I wrote_** _Scar_ ** _as to how DM acquired the scar as a mouse pup, so I had to eventually write it. All sorts of ideas ran through my head, but this one seemed most plausible._**

 _ **This contains a reference to a classic episode called**_ _Tampering with Time Tickles_ _ **. The reason DM claims he was very young when he was injured is because a baby photo seen in the background in the episode**_ _Play it Again, Wufgang!_ _ **shows that he had an eyepatch even then! He's only advanced with his walking and talking due to**_ _The Danger Mouse File_ _ **stating he was able to walk and talk well enough only hours after he had been born (heck, he climbed the rest of Mt. Everest!).**_

 _ **This is a Dangerfold fic, so there is slash. There is also description of an injury, though not very graphic and mention of past self-harm.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy this!**_

 _ **(Linebreaks hate me, so I will use**_ _DMEP_ _ **.)**_

DMEP

 _London. Home of Buckingham Palace, the Thames and the new Wembley Stadium. Home, too, of our brave hero Danger Mouse and his not-so-brave assistant Penfold. We return to the building cleverly disguised as a pillar box to see they are returning from an outing._

"Right, we'll get up to the flat, grab a cuppa, then I'll tell you about how I got... _this_ ," Danger Mouse remarked as he pointed to his left eye. He climbed out of the vehicle.

Penfold unfastened his seatbelt and followed the mouse's lead. "If you don't want to, you don't have to."

"No, I do want to."

"You do? How come?"

"I feel like I should so I can finally get to accepting it as part of me."

"If you say so, DM..."

DMEP

The rodents each held a steaming mug of coffee as they sat on the circular sofa. It had been a long day and they both needed the caffeine, lest they suddenly doze. "Now then, this happened a long time ago when I was just a lad."

"How young were you exactly?"

"I was in my early years of schooling...I believe I was still comparable to an infant. I don't mean to boast, but I was a bright youngster and did so much in the few months I'd lived thus far."

"Ah."

"So, you know that I have a tendency to be a bit of a show-off, yes?"

He chose not to answer and instead had a sip from his mug.

Danger Mouse chuckled. "Oh, come on, Penfold. I won't be cross with you for agreeing. Why, you've even seen what I was like in my youth!"

"Well...yes, DM, that's true. Erm, you do sometimes get a bit too...excited and into it."

Another chuckle. "Well, I was much worse as a boy."

"I kind of figured. I mean, I did see you as such."

"Anyway, I was being a bit too foolish on the play equipment."

 _ **A tiny, white mouse pup had climbed to the top of the monkey bars. "Look at me! Cor, this is high! Bet nobody else can get up here too!"**_

 _ **"Get down from there, you'll get hurt!" a puppy called in concern.**_

 _ **"Oh, balderdash! I'll be fine! Why, I'll prove it by walking from one end to the other and back again with my eyes closed!"**_

 _ **All of the children watching the mouse pup felt fear. A kitten turned to his younger sister. "Go get the teacher! Hurry!"**_

 _ **The younger kitten hurried to do as instructed.**_

 _ **The mouse pup closed his eyes, stretched his arms out and tiptoed over the right beam. "See? Piece of cake!"**_

 _ **The younger kitten returned with a vixen accompanying her. The vixen gasped and called out to the mouse pup. "Get down from there at once, young man!"**_

 _ **The mouse pup followed the instructions, but not in a way that had been intended.**_

Penfold gasped. "So, fooling around and showing off was what caused you to have the accident that left you with your scar?"

The mention of his scar caused Danger Mouse to feel a bit uncomfortable. He had a sip from his mug before resuming his story.

 _ **Gasps of horror sounded as the mouse pup lost his footing and fell down. He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see the ground get closer the further he fell. Keeping his eyes closed proved to be a wise idea as his left eye struck a sharp stone where he landed. It was no larger than a pebble to most, but to him at his height, it was a pretty decent size.**_

 _ **The vixen hurried forward and checked the mouse pup for injuries. She covered her mouth. "Keep your left eye closed, it's been wounded." She noted blood was flowing from it, and hoped the poor rodent hadn't done more damage than what he appeared to have done. After confirming she could move him, she scooped him into her arms, placed a handkerchief to his face, told him to apply firm pressure and hurried him to the sick bay. He would need to go to the hospital right away.**_

"Cor, I bet you gave her the fright of her life!"

"When I was able to open my right eye, I did notice she was beyond horrified. She must also have felt so much guilt for not getting me down herself. I really should've apologised to her."

 _ **An older mouse, one with a brown pelt, hurried into the room where the mouse pup was having stitches applied to the gash. "Oh my, what have you done to yourself?" she whispered as she approached the bed. "You've really done it this time, young mouse."**_

 _ **The mouse pup was frowning, ears drooped in shame. He couldn't feel the stitches being sewn into his skin due to anaesthetic. But, the worry in the older rodent's voice made it clear he had definitely done something very foolish by showing off earlier. "I'm sorry, Nanny..."**_

 _ **"There is a worry that his vision may have been affected. I was told his eye was closed when he acquired his injury, but we still must wait until his stitches have been removed before we can confirm his vision. The worst damage was to the area around it, but his eyelid also received damage," the doctor, a beaver, remarked to the mouse while still focusing on patching up the injury. "We'll keep him in here over the next few days, have his stitches removed when it's time and see how he goes. In the meantime, he'll have to wear an eyepatch."**_

 _ **The mouse pup brightened. "An eyepatch? Cor, I will look so amazing! I bet the other kids will be jealous!"**_

 _ **The older mouse sighed.**_

"It took a little while for me to adjust to the fact I had something on my face, but soon, it felt like it wasn't there at all. I did receive some visits from fellow students, and yes, some thought I had become a pirate due to the eyepatch."

"Crumbs, DM..."

"It was over a week later when my stitches were finally removed. I believe I may have startled everyone within hearing range."

"What do you mean?"

 _ **The doctor finished removing the stitches. "Okay, if you could please open your left eye? Do it slowly so it can adjust." The beaver did not want to voice the concern that the mouse pup might wind up seeing nothing at all.**_

 _ **He did take his time, though he was feeling rather impatient.**_

 _ **"Now, close your right eye or this won't work. What do you see?"**_

 _ **He did as instructed. His left eye fully opened, he smiled. "I see Nanny standing at the end of my bed."**_

 _ **"Is she clear or blurry?"**_

 _ **"Clear."**_

 _ **Nanny had her paws over her mouth and was whispering her relief that the mouse pup had not done any damage to his eyeball, his sight not being affected.**_

 _ **"Now then. I'm sure you must be wondering if you have a scar, yes?" The beaver handed the mouse pup a handheld mirror.**_

 _ **He held it up and promptly screamed. The scar he saw was probably the most hideous thing he had ever seen in his short life. He almost threw the mirror away in his despair; instead dropping it onto the bed and putting his left paw over the left side of his face. "Don't look at it! It's ugly! It's disgusting!"**_

 _ **Nanny and the doctor exchanged concerned glances. "It's not that bad, dear. It's still fresh, it will fade in no time," Nanny tried reassuring him.**_

 _ **"No! It's big and it's nasty! Nanny, don't look at me!"**_

 _ **The doctor sighed. "I'm thinking that he may still need the eyepatch after all." He handed the eyepatch to the mouse pup. "Here. This can cover your left eye and the scar over it."**_

 _ **The mouse pup hurriedly slipped it on. "Can I wear this all the time?"**_

 _ **The doctor nodded. "Just as long as you don't neglect washing under there everyday. This won't fit you when you grow up, but hopefully by then, you'll decide you won't need it any longer."**_

Penfold had already finished his coffee and had set down the mug. He was sitting closer to Danger Mouse with his arms wrapped around him. "But, you still saw it that way, even as you got older."

"Yes. I knew I had to wash there everyday, but I had to plead with Nanny to remove the mirror so I at least didn't have to look at it. I can't do that here though, so every single time, I am forced to look at it."

"Oh, DM..."

"I still can't believe it doesn't repulse you."

"I'm wondering if it is just because you think the scar itself looks terrible, or if you have bad feelings about your accident. I mean, you could've completely lost your sight in your left eye. You terrified the teacher, more than likely sent your nanny into shock, your peers saw you have your accident and were more than likely worried about you..."

"No, I already acknowledged all of that. It really is just the scar."

"It's not the only scar you have though, is it? Years ago, you showed me one you inflicted on yourself and told me of more."

"Those are a lot different to this one. They were cleaner. This one is like a jagged mess on my face that I can never clean off. Even when my fur grew back, it was still visible whereas those aren't visible without my pushing my fur aside. You saw it, you know it stands out. The others are better concealed."

"Oh, DM..."

"I hate it. I hate everything about it. I hate how it looks, I hate how it feels when I touch it, and I hate how it makes me feel!"

The hamster shifted closer, his body pressed against that of the upset mouse.

"I still don't understand how you can accept it."

"I told you. It's a part of you, and I love you, scars and all. There is nothing I don't love about you."

He clung to the hamster, feeling himself getting overwhelmed with emotion. "When I returned to school, I was asked by the children if I had a scar. They asked if they could see it. I couldn't even bring myself to tell them that yes, I did, and no, they could not see it. They wondered about my eyepatch, asking if I could still see out of my eye. I told them I could but I needed it on. I couldn't even come up with a suitable fib as to why, so I told them to leave me alone."

"I bet that surprised them."

"It did. I proved to still be the same mouse they knew, but I was a bit more secretive. I always changed the subject whenever my accident was brought up."

"I'm glad you haven't done that with me."

"Well, you never asked about it. I had no need to."

"Something was telling me it was a touchy subject for you, so I decided not to push my luck."

"Were you also afraid you might not like the answer?"

"Maybe a little. It's different now. I'm still a scaredy-hamster, but thanks to you, I've started becoming braver than I used to be."

"So, in the past, it may have caused you some repulsion?"

"No. I know I would never have been disgusted or frightened by it. Alarmed, perhaps, but only because I would be worried about how you got it. I was more scared you would tell me you lost your eye in a fierce fight on a mission or something. If I had heard that, I don't think I would've been able to stick around any longer. If I heard it had happened to you, what would the chances be of something worse happening to me?"

"I see."

"Hey, DM?"

"Yes?"

He stretched up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for telling your story. I'll help you learn to accept that scar. I don't know how, but I'll do it."

He smiled tenderly, leaned down and captured his lips with his own. He pulled back after a few seconds. "Thank you, Penfold. I doubt I will ever learn to accept it. But, at least I have the comfort of knowing the one I love does."

DMEP

 _Thus ends yet another tale about our heroes. Will Penfold be able to help Danger Mouse accept the scar as part of himself? Or will Danger Mouse feel the same way about it for the rest of his days? Who knows? Maybe one day, we will, but iuntil then, keep your eyes peeled for the next narrative of..._ _ **Danger Mouse**_ _!_

DMEP

 **After notes:** _ **The characters in the flashback didn't have names mentioned because it was as if DM was telling the story himself. As for why he was just referred to as 'the mouse pup', his real name is a secret and he's keeping it that way. Danger Mouse was raised by a nanny, as stated in**_ _The Danger Mouse File_ _ **, which is why she is at the hospital instead of his parents. You may have also caught a reference to one of my other fics set in the classic timeline called**_ _I Never Realised_ _ **. I figured that since I reference classic episodes, why not reference my fics from said time?**_

 _ **Thanks for reading! You don't have to review, but if you do say something, please don't flame. Constructive criticism is more than welcome though. Thanks again, see you next time!**_


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